Bombardment of Kagoshima

The Bombardment of Kagoshima (15-17 August 1863) occurred when a British Royal Navy fleet of 7 ships under the command of Admiral Augustus Kuper opened fire on the Japanese port town of Kagoshima, defended by 3 warships of the Satsuma Domain and some coastal defenses. The British destroyed the small Satsuma navy and inflicted heavy damage upon the town as retaliation for Japan's murder of foreign nationals.

Background
In 1853, the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan agreed to open up Japan to foreign trade after a fleet of United States ships under Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Kanagawa. The Japanese shoguns were seen as traitors to the people of Japan, as they had broken two hundred years of isolation from the West, and the Europeans began to industrialize Japan. Small businesses were ruined, and the Emperor of Japan resisted the Shogun by declaring an "Order to Expel the Barbarians". This order, picked up by the Sonno Joi movement, resulted in the murders of many foreign nationals. From 16 July to 14 August 1863, European ships bombarded the Japanese ports along the Shimonoseki Straits after the Choshu Domain began to fire on passing vessels. When a few British nationals were murdered by the Satsuma Domain, the government of the United Kingdom demanded restitution. When this was refused, the British sent a naval squadron of 7 warships to make a show of force in Kagoshima harbor. When fired upon, the force bombarded the town.

Battle
Kagoshima was defended by 3 Satsuma Domain warships as well as coastal defenses. However, the Satsuma ships were still wooden ships used back in the 1600s, while the British had modern steam warships that had superior cannon. All 3 Satsuma warships and their crews were sunk, and 5 additional casualties were suffered when the British cannon pounded the town of Kagoshima itself. 63 British sailors were killed or wounded in the naval combat, but they inflicted heavy damage on Kagoshima, forcing the Emperor to acknowledge that the West was more powerful than all of his forces.

Aftermath
Having been defeated in the Shimonoseki Straits and Kagoshima, the Emperor showed signs of weakness. He decided to strengthen his position by making peace with the British, and the British sent military advisor Seth Patrick to assist in training the Satsuma Army, which began to use modern rifles and drill doctrines. In early 1864, the Emperor's factions (including the Satsuma and Choshu) and the Shogunate's factions went to war with each other in a new warring states period, starting the Boshin War and the transformation of Japan from an isolated series of islands into a modernized global superpower.